Get ready for the launch of Metrolink ’s new city centre route this Sunday.

The Second City Crossing runs from a major new stop at St Peter’s Square along Cross Street to stops at Exchange Square and Victoria.

The line will offer new links and more frequent trams through Manchester city centre , as well as improved service reliability and greater operational flexibility, transport bosses say.

Customers using East Didsbury – Shaw and Crompton – Rochdale Town Centre trams will now travel on the new line, serving Victoria, Exchange Square and St Peter’s Square.

(Image: Mark Waugh)

Manchester Airport services will run to the city centre Deansgate-Castlefield stop and, later this year, will continue to Victoria.

It’s the last piece in the £1.5bn expansion jigsaw, which started wth the line to East Didsbury in 2009, and continued with new lines to MediaCityUK, Rochdale via Oldham, Ashton and Manchester Airport. Metrolink is now the biggest light rail system in the UK.

Peter Cushing, Metrolink director for Transport for Greater Manchester , said: “The route really gives us the capacity to run more trams through the city centre but also gives us resilience because if we ever have an issue, for example, in Piccadilly Gardens, we can run things along the Second City Crossing rather than have to wait to resolve that issue to be able to run everything.

"So what that means is that we have much more resilience in the system and we will be able to run things with a lot more surety and a lot more reliability.”

Metrolink Second City Crossing

The first phase of the Second City Crossing opened from Victoria through to a new stop at Exchange Square in December 2015.

Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council , said the route would make travel easier while taking in some of the city’s most iconic landmarks.

He added: “The new line highlights the journey of our city, how much the city has changed in such a short space of time, and represents a major milestone in Manchester’s continuing development and growth.”